Programme Leader, North

July 2026

1. Role summary

Job title Programme Leader, North

Reporting to Head of Programme, Place

Salary £35,000 – £40,000 FTE, with salary offered subject to experience

Hours 37.5 hours per week, full-time

Contract Permanent.

Location Hybrid working. Minimum 2 to 3 days in Access Sport’s Manchester office.

2. About Access Sport

Access Sport is a national charity with a vision that no one should be excluded from the transformational benefits of community sport. We are on a mission to make inclusion the norm in community sport by tackling the access barriers faced by disadvantaged and disabled young people.

We do this by training, equipping, and supporting community sports clubs, organisations, and volunteers to provide inclusive programmes, unleashing their potential to transform the lives of underserved young people in their local communities.

This work aims to tackle the root causes preventing disadvantaged and/or disabled young people from accessing sport through a range of projects which are either place-specific or sport-specific. All the clubs we support are invited to join our Inclusive Club Network. We then use the expertise gained through this work to effect System Change.

In 2025/26 Access Sport engaged over 40,909 disadvantaged and disabled young people, with a strong representation from ethnically diverse communities, girls, and previously less active young people.

A copy of our 2022-2027 growth strategy, Stand for Inclusion, which provides further details about our work and future development plans can be found here on our website.

Films showcasing our work can be found on our YouTube channel. These include a recent film about Access Sport, our inclusive multi-sport festival in Birmingham and our Cadishead Park pump track and basketball court launch.

3. Role purpose

Summary

Access Sport is looking to appoint a new Programme Leader with responsibility for leading our work across the North of England. We have been working to transform community sport for disabled and disadvantaged young people in Greater Manchester since 2004, Sheffield since 2022, and we have ambitions to continue expanding.

The post holder will support the delivery of our ambitious Stand for Inclusion Growth Strategy, aiming to deepen our impact across existing places, whilst also expanding our presence to new cities across the North. This includes delivering our strategy for existing place-based work across Greater Manchester and Sheffield through effective leadership and management, as well as driving the growth and development of new projects across the North.

Candidates should have experience in developing disability and/or social inclusion focused projects, with a strong understanding of whole systems place-based working and the ability to manage a range of strategic/ stakeholder relationships. Effective line management and leadership skills will be required to ensure a cross-functional, in-person and remote team is well supported across the region. Finally, candidates will have experience in joining up a series of projects across a region to ensure connectivity, alignment and outcomes driven work.

This is an exciting time to join Access Sport as we enter the final, and most ambitious, year of our Stand for Inclusion Growth Strategy and look to expand our work across the North in 2026/27 and beyond.

Responsibilities

Leadership

Line manage delivery and impact team members in the North, including those based in Greater Manchester and Sheffield, initially consisting of five staff members but with the expectation that the team will grow.

Ensure team members have appropriate people-focused support, helping staff to balance workload pressures, capacity challenges, and competing priorities, whilst ensuring high standards of performance, and maintaining staff wellbeing.

Be a key member of our internal Place Leadership Group, working to ensure strong alignment across our localities and sharing of best practices.

Work collaboratively/ develop strong relationships with local sector partners, including Local Authorities, Active Partnerships, disability organisations, leisure operators, health bodies, education providers, youth sector partners, sport/ sport for development organisations and other relevant agencies important to whole systems approaches place-based working.

• Act as a senior representative of Access Sport at our Fundraising Steering Groups and other relevant meetings, events, forums, conferences etc.

Delivery and Project Management

• Oversee the successful delivery of a range of place-specific projects across the North, continuing to shape their ongoing development to achieve optimum reach and impact, in line with Access Sport’s Stand for Inclusion Growth Strategy.

Drive the development of new place-based projects across the North from conception through to delivery, this may include disability and social inclusion initiatives.

Ensure effective financial management of place-based projects, working closely with the finance team.

Support our fundraising team in the development of funding proposals/ applications from a wide range of sources to support existing and new place-based projects.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Ensure effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting of placebased projects across the North, working closely with the Monitoring & Evaluation Lead.

Contribute to internal reporting requirements such as creating case studies, films and news stories for website/social media.

Support the wider team to develop best practice and resources from learnings and insights.

This list is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive, as there may be other duties and requirements associated with the post, which Access Sport may call upon the post-holder to perform from time to time.

4. Person specification

Skills/ experience

Essential

Excellent understanding and experience of sport for development policy and practice, as well as related sectors (e.g. public health, young people, community engagement).

Strong leadership skills, including strategic thinking, effective communication, emotional intelligence, and the ability to coach, mentor, inspire and develop high-performing teams in a matrix management environment.

Experience in developing/ influencing/ managing key strategic/ stakeholder partner relationships.

Experience/ knowledge of whole systems place-based approaches, and an understanding of this way of working across a range of localities.

• Excellent project management and organisational skills, comfortable managing several different projects and activities at the same time.

Experience/ knowledge in developing community organisations, preferably with an inclusion focus.

• A strong understanding of the barriers that may affect disabled children and young people from participating in sport, and experience of working with underserved communities.

• Understanding of and commitment to safeguarding.

• Financially literate with an ability to manage budgets.

Desirable

Lived experience of one or more of the underserved communities we support i.e. D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, ethnically diverse communities, women and girls, and low-socio economic backgrounds.

Knowledge and understanding of the key differences across communities in a range of places, and relevant priorities for a range of stakeholders in these places.

Experience of working in the disability, health, education or youth sector.

Experience of working for a charity or sport for development organisation.

Personal attributes

• A personal commitment to Access Sport’s vision and values.

• A proactive, driven, and highly motivated individual with big ambitions to create change.

A passion for empowering underrepresented children and young people to reach their full potential through sport.

• A strong team player with good interpersonal skills.

• Self-motivated, able to use initiative and a highly flexible approach to work and quickly build positive relationships.

• Reliable and hardworking with the confidence to work independently.

• Demonstrate a commitment to continuing personal and professional development.

In addition:

• The post holder must have the right to work in the UK.

The post holder must be able to travel within the UK, with regular travel in/ surrounding areas of Greater Manchester and the North.

The post holder may be expected to stay away for work purposes from time to time.

Flexibility

In order to work effectively in a changing environment, flexibility is required from the post-holder. Any other tasks that may be requested will be at the same level of responsibility and terms and conditions of employment. The role will require some travel for training delivery and to different Access Sport offices, as well as occasional unsocial hours, including evenings and weekends in accordance with the demands of clubs and workshops.

Equal opportunities

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Access Sport is committed to creating an inclusive culture, through fostering a diverse workforce where everyone feels like they belong, differences are valued, and everyone can reach their potential.

We are actively seeking to diversify and create a workplace that is welcoming for all, ensuring that our workforce is representative of wider society and the communities we support. If you need any adjustments to the recruitment process, at either the application or interview stage, please contact us (details in section 6).

We offer disabled applicants the option of requesting that their application is considered under the terms of our Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS). If you wish to apply under our GIS, please indicate this in your cover email. For more information, please visit our Join the Team page.

Background checks

As this role may, at times, involve working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks which includes a criminal record check with the Disclosure and Barring Service and two references.

5. Staff benefits

Access Sport is an exciting and dynamic place to work. We pride ourselves on being a close-knit and well-supported team with a clear sense of purpose, delivering real impact. Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.

We are committed to supporting the development of our team members and, should you wish, there are opportunities for team members to get involved in different aspects of the charity, from the delivery of our programmes on the ground to fundraising, events and advocacy.

Staff benefits include:

Employee Assistance Programme - Access to a 24/7 confidential helpline, counselling services and online information.

Annual leave - 28 days annual leave, including 3 days between Christmas and New Year, plus 1 extra day of leave per year of service for the first 5 years. This equates to 33 days of annual leave after 5 years of continuous service. Plus 8 days paid public holidays.

Healthy living and wellbeing employer - We welcome staff to embed regular exercise into their daily work lives and have quarterly team away days.

Volunteering/ personal development days - Two additional days of paid leave each year to volunteer for an Access Sport club or other charity, or to use as personal development days.

• Pension - 5% employer pension contribution.

• New Mums and Dads, including adoptive parents, can take enhanced maternity and paternity leave.

Flexible working and family-friendly - Hybrid and flexible working arrangements which are family-friendly and provide flexibility around caring responsibilities.

• 24/7 GP service to provide employees with a phone or video appointment at a time and date that suits them.

• Cycle to Work scheme - saving up to 39% off a new bike and accessories.

• Group Life Assurance for all staff on payroll.

6. How to apply

The closing date for applications is 12 pm, Friday 14 August 2026.

To apply, please complete the application form on the Access Sport website here: Programme Leader Application Form

Once you have submitted your online application, please email your CV and Equal Opportunities Monitoring form to Careers@AccessSport.org.uk with your name in the subject line.

Our Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form can be found here: www.AccessSport.org.uk/join-the-team.

Candidates who have been shortlisted for an interview will be notified by Friday 21 August. The first interviews are scheduled to take place w/c 24 August.

If you have any questions or would like to have an informal discussion about the role, please email Sue.Wheeler@AccessSport.org.uk.

Data protection

Access Sport CIO will only process and store your personal information, this means any information that identifies or could identify you, for the purposes of recruitment, after which it will be securely disposed.